Loosing My Voice

Have you ever been home all day by yourself, not talking to anyone? Then someone calls, you answer the phone, and you speak but the words don't make any sense. It is sort of like loosing your voice. And when I do this, the person on the other end of the phone invariably asks, "Did I wake you up?"

I want to blurt out, "Fuck no, I don't normally sleep at 2 in the afternoon," but that response is not very lady-like. Plus, since I have not used my voice all day, it would come out like "Er um, n-nnnoooooo."

Writing this morning is sort of like loosing my voice. I have not written a word in a week, and I fear that I have lost my voice. Not my physical voice, but the voice I use when writing.

I have lost my voice before. When I was younger, I began writing. I would write as if I was talking to my best friend. She and I shared so much, but I would write everyone as if I was writing her. My writing was open and frank. It was a little too open, so after a while, I decided to write everyone in a different voice, a "letter to grandfather" voice. I respected my grandfather, and when writing in that voice, I was more reserved, more proper, and my spelling was better.

So throughout my late childhood and early adulthood, all correspondence – well, most correspondence – was done in my "letter to grandfather" voice. The sole exception, I suppose, was sexy letters to boyfriends. Most letters to boyfriends still used the "letter to grandfather" voice, but if they involved thinking about my boyfriend's loins, I switched voice. Better than paying for years of psychotherapy.

Actually, when my grandfather died, I stopped writing for a while. I lost my voice, I suppose. I wrote a few times, mostly to him, about his death. But I stopped writing my parents (I tried writing them once per week, so they knew I was alive). Telephone calls seemed extravagant at the time. We talked to each other for five or ten minutes on Sundays at 4:00 pm (an hour before the rate changes, from weekend to Sunday night).

Pardon me while I get my voice back, and no, I did not just wake up.

Back Soon

I will be taking a week off. I should be back on or about March 31.

I was reading a blog by Ian the other day, and it got me to thinking. His question was about blogging. I blog every work day, and I think that is too damn much. Not because I can't do my job. I can. Oh, and my bosses, if they intercept this message, I am pretty good at what I do. Oh, and I have the negatives you are looking for in a safe deposit box – if I go missing, a friend will take them and go public. Not blackmail, just stating some facts here.

Have a wonderful week. I will be away from the office, not writing a damn word, not thinking about work at all. If I liked to fish, I'd be doing that. Not that I don't like to fish. Or that I do like to fish. I am neutral on fishing. Actually it would be a really cute activity if bait smelled a little better.

Back in a week. Have a wonderful week, dear readers!

Random Friday #18

Connections
I was watching a YouTube video the other day, and although I rarely click their suggested videos, there was one by David Sedaris that looked interesting. Well, that led to one by Amy Sedaris, and then I wanted to see if the two were married, so I went on Google with Amy's name, and came up with an IMDB page for Amy, and the first movie on her list, Puberty: The Movie, where she plays the voice of Paulie the penis. I eventually learned that Amy is the younger sister of David, which was a relief. I mean, can you imagine how David would have felt, being married to a woman who was cast as a penis? This could be the twenty-first century version of the Oedipus complex.

Nena and 99 Luftballons
I saw a comment on a blog I read the other day about "99 Red Balloons." The high schooler said something about blasting this song on their car one day. Anyway, she indicated the festive environment was aided by the song. Of course, the song is about ninety-nine balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalyptic overreaction by military forces. Didn’t know that was party music. And they are red in the American version, not the German version.

Blog Roll Cheating
A week or so ago, I went to one of my favorite blogs (I will not link to him/her because I want everyone to think it is you) and he/she took down her blog roll. I mean who takes down their blog roll? Oh, and I sometimes use her blog roll, and I sort of feel like I am cheating. Weird, huh?

Done with Education
I heard a college senior say that they will graduate in May, and that they are done with their education. That they no longer "will be a slave to their professors." Note to self: don't hire this person. Someone who thinks they are done learning. Isn't that part of life? After college?

Bunny Boiler
I saw this on YouTube. It is a show called Bunny Boiler, I think, in reference to the Fatal Attraction scene. I wanted to write something about it. But I really couldn't think of a whole post for this one. I know women are competitive, but not like the clip. We are a bit more manipulative than that. Oh, and someone sent me the clip on September 9, 2007. Yeah, I deleted another "draft" blog entry by placing the embedded clip on the Friday post. Yea, me!



YouTube Recommendation
On Friday, a long time ago, I would post twice, one for my normal Friday post (it may or may not be a random post), and a second post that included a couple of YouTube recommendations. Generally speaking, people did not like the YouTube recommendations.

So, I decided to plant random recommendations inside of my Friday post. Michael Inouye, otherwise known as minouye, is a YouTube personality who is somewhat popular. I don't know if he is very popular because not a lot of people make fun of him. He has started doing a weekly vlog that is wonderful – it is about politics, but in a humorous way. He did a four or five part series on some sort of computer game (WOW, can't remember what it stands for and am too lazy to Google it; I just know it is all-consuming and there are lots of levels) once that was fascinating. I think he took down those videos, perhaps because the subject of the video may have received unwanted attention.

Anyway, I think he does vlogs that are entertaining an inciteful.



Tired
I am just tired, and I have three days of Church to attend. A freakin' marathon. Yeah, me cursing having to go to Church. Too bad I just visited the priest in Confession earlier this week. I would have liked to hear his reaction.

Maundy Thursday: Thoughts of Lazarus

Today is known as Maundy Thursday. The morning celebration of these events marks the beginning of what is called the Easter Triduum or Sacred Triduum. Triduum is a cool word, because of the "double u" spelling. I sometimes wonder if 'triduum' was supposed to be spelled 'tridvm' when they made the global replace from 'uu' to 'w', but a few words sort of got left out.

About now, you are probably thinking, "this is not your normal Christian Holy Day (or feast day) post. And you would be right.

I am going to talk about one specific story in the Bible, but I hope not to get too preachy. I also hope not to get to sacrilegious because it would suck to excommunicated for a blog entry.

The story concerns Lazarus. For those who slept through Sunday school, Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, fell ill. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, knew he was gravely ill (see the pun there – gravely ill?) and sent word to Jesus. Jesus delayed – he was a busy guy, after all, and when he finally arrived at Bethany, Laz was dead four days. In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners (you have to have witnesses to write these things down or tell people to write them down), Jesus had the stone rolled away from the tomb and ordered Lazarus to come out. Out comes Laz, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. The narrator claims, and many Biblical scholars concur, this miracle convinced many other Jews of Jesus' divinity.

This was sort of the beginning of the end for Jesus. Shortly thereafter, you had Jesus coming into Jerusalem, knocking over tables, and so forth, the events celebrated/remembered during Holy Week.

End of religious stuff that make some people barf, while giving others hope.

What I want to know is when Lazarus died again, what did his relatives think? I mean, you had a guy being raised from the dead, and if it was my relative, I would probably wait a few days. Why wrap the guy in grave clothes, place him in a tomb, roll a heavy rock in front of the entrance, and then have to undue all of those preparations.

Or when your sister or brother says, Laz is dead. You would be thinking, "Right, good one." I mean, Laz was already dead. Jesus said something about raising folks up afterwards. If I was one of Laz's relatives, I would have thought perhaps he would be staying on the Earth "until the last day."

And if you think about it, a lot of the people who were Jesus's contemporaries, probably thought that "the last day" would probably occur within their lifetimes. I mean, so much history had occurred in a few short years. Think about it.

When others are praying or looking at Ms. Dingleberry's cleavage, I sometimes wonder about things surrounding the sermons. Also, not sure if I were Laz, when I would celebrate my birth day. I mean, you would have a birth day and re-birth day. How cool would that be?

Super Sexual Partners

I started writing this on June 7, 2007, but I did not get very far. This is, however, the last full post that is left in draft status. I am doing that happy dance.

When I was new¹ to blogging, I wrote a post about which superhero I would like as a lover. But I was thinking, the other day, what if my hubbie was a superhero. I mean, how would he be as a lover?

Super Sperm
I mean, Superman has super strength. He can blow out of his mouth and release a hurricane. What makes you think, even if he was shooting "blanks", that he would not, at the very least, bruise a cervix? And, if I were to be crude, can you imagine the bruises if he ever wanted to give a girl a pearl necklace?

Super Strength
There are many different super heroes where super strength is an issue. The Incredible Hulk, that Orange "Incredible Hulk" want-to-be made of rock², Superman, and many others. How can I put this? I bruise easily. And I would not want bruises down my arms, on my legs and in any other place a super lover happened to touch me. A side thought: do you think the Thing is always "hard"? A question that just popped into my head.

Mind Powers
There are some super heroes that can read minds. That would totally suck to be involved in a relationship with someone who did not need to talk. Most men are not very talkative (and the ones who are, well, many of them should just shut up). To have a guy pry into your mind, that would just suck. At least he would never ask, "How was I?"

Magic Lasso
Wonder Woman's lasso is a special case. Not really a super power, but something that Wonder Woman uses a whole heck of a lot. Wonder Woman is from Themyscira (I Googled it, I had no idea what the place was called – I would have called it Amazonia). Okay, I won't do any other research here, but as I recall, Wonder Woman was part of an island where there were no men. All women – tall, beautiful women – all the time. If I were Wonder Woman, I would be lesbian. I mean, you are on an island full of women (no men around), and after a while, you want to do more than swim and swing from vine to vine. So if I were an inhabitant of Themyscira, I would be lesbian, but it would suck to have Wonder Woman as a lover. Well, it would be pretty darned good until she used her lasso on you. "So that's where my red pumps went to." Okay, so my hubbie would not be some woman with Playtex Wonderbra boobies . . . .

Wonder Twin Powers
The Wonder Twins are a pair of twins, Zan and Jayna, teenage aliens. Zan, the boy, can turn into any form of water, and Jayna, the girl, can turn into any animal (real or mythical – they are aliens, by the by, so this doesn't have to make too much sense). All I can think is "ew." I don't want a hubbie that can turn into an ice dildo (seems more like torture than sex) or an animal (we are not going to get into bestiality). These seem to be the strange sex powers in my book, more appropriately just left alone. Believe it or not, I like plain vanilla sex just fine, thank you very much. Though, I write about really strange things.

Silly Afterplay
One of my favorite super heroes is Aquaman. Hey, I grew up where Jacques Cousteau was celebrated. So Aquaman was a big deal. But if he were my lover, I would imagine after having sex, he would use his thought power to steer his little fishies through my fallopian tubes and elsewhere. And that would totally freak me out. And I would tell Aquaman that his little fishies are not really fish. I might even use a curse word.

---

¹Well, the post was on October 13, 2005, and I started blogging in September 2005. Not that this was about James Tilly Matthews or anything.

²I think this is the Thing, part of the Fantastic Four. But I am not sure.

Nice Swear Words

On February 2, 2007, I wrote a title ("Nice Swear Words") and one single word, "muffin." I really debated just deleting the draft, thus helping to clear out all draft backlogs (after this, there are two left). Without further ado (and I really don't know where this is going) . . . .

Skirt
When I was a freshman in college I dutifully took my Freshman English class. The only thing I remember about the class was that we read a short story about a guy driving a rig. I read the story, and was not really moved. The next day, the professor tells me about all of the symbolism, how the truck (a Peterbilt) represented the guy's genitals. Then he goes into a tirade about when they talk about a "skirt", men are implying that the only reason to be with a woman was because of what the skirt contained.

So in a sense, I suppose calling someone a skirt would be a "nice swear word." Okay, probably not.

Muffin
I had a friend that, when angry, used to say, "Eat my muffin." I giggled the first time she said it, mostly because of what I thought it meant. Now, I am sure she was not inviting someone who pissed her off to engage in cunnilinguis. Perhaps, to her, it may have been meant as a variant of "bite me," another one of her sayings.

Now I have heard of "muffin munchin'", and I have concluded it is all about cunnilinguis. Muffin is a cute-sy term. But I don't ever recall of hearing someone calling someone a muffin and meaning they were a p---y. I guess muffin is not a swear word.

P---y
For those of you who have read my erotic short stories, you will notice the lack of curse words. There was a high school, or was it middle school, science teacher that said that "bad words are the tools of small minds."

I don't know if that, or the taste of Ivory soap, lead me to current state of clean mouth. Actually, I think it may have more to do with my southern upbringing. It was just un-lady-like to say certain things.

I started this out by saying "nice swear words." You know, swear words are not supposed to be nice. They are supposed to be mean, they are supposed to hurt, and as my science teacher may suggest, "for small minds."

Maybe why this is why I never finished this post.

Presents for Children

Today is St. Patrick's Day. And I don't know what city you are in, but in Savannah, it is a big deal. Not quite Boston, but still . . . . So I took the day off (in other words, short post today). JackDanyells has a video about St. Patrick's day.

I wrote something the other day about purchasing presents for children. Not having children of my own, there is some amorphous dark area surrounding children's' presents. When I was growing up, we did not have a lot of toys. I don't want you to think I lived in a dirt-bottomed shack, will pill bugs for pets, but that would not be an accurate representation. We just got presents at Christmas and on our birthday, and that was about it.

My nieces and nephews get presents at other times of the year. Part of that may have to do their parents having a bit more money than my parents had. Not more love, but more money.

When my nieces were younger, I would buy them the cutest outfits. And my nephews, I would buy the noisiest toys I could find.

I was not a big doll person growing up. Well, that is not really true. I had a couple of special dolls, with several outfits. I was not a doll collector. We did not collect things, really. But not that I dress up my niece's like dolls, but I get satisfaction from buying clothes for my nieces. Plus, I don't have to read the labels because I don't have to wash the clothes.

Now that I think about it, I buy clothes for nieces (to give me satisfaction). I buy noisy tops for my nephews (which bug my siblings and give me satisfaction). I think I have this gift-giving things sort of backwards.

Random Friday #17

YouTube Christian
For some reason, I got to a new YouTube user named ZenithXLT. She starts out a video response to someone else. Apparently she has a dinosaur video which is much more interesting. After all, dinosaurs trump religion. Just think about Saturday morning: would you rather watch "The Flintstones" or "Davey and Goliath." I really don't watch a lot of videos any more, but I thought she was interesting. So if you like to hear other Christian viewpoints, subscribe to her (I am Subscriber #16). If I did a YouTube review, I would on her. But I got bored with that, and really, most of my readers could care less about YouTube. Plus I keep hearing about dogs on skateboards on YouTube, but I have not seen the video. I would love to see a squirrel on a skateboard.

She started her video with asking what you would rather have: (1) A human woman who may stray but come back to you, or (2) a robot girl. My response was easy: A robot man with multiple attachments. Well, that's how I started my response. I wanted to talk about determinism and Saint Augustine's views, but after talking about a robot's sexual attachments, I thought perhaps my credibility was shot.

Poor Wellesley
I saw a t-shirt the other week which read: "Glass ceilings were made to be broken: Wellesley Students for Hillary". Tuition for the 2006-2007 school year cost $32,384. Their alumni include Hillary Clinton (obviously) and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (Wellesley ‘17). Sorry, but I don't believe Wellesley girls reach glass ceilings.

Behind Every Good Man . . .
I read the other day that Stephen King through away the first four pages of a novel that eventually became Carrie. His wife found it in the trash, said he had something good, and urged him to continue. Throughout history, you can find women who help make their husbands succeed. Dwight D. Eisenhower had Mamie, FDR had Eleanor Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton had . . . . Oh, yeah, we don't know if she is a woman. I want to start a new saying of first ladies. "She's no Dolley Madison." I don't think it will catch on.

Mercury Rising
From a news source: "Compact fluorescent lamps - those spiral, energy-efficient bulbs popular as a device to combat global warming - can pose a small risk of mercury poisoning to infants, young children, and pregnant women if they break, two reports concluded yesterday."

Moldy Bread
Many of you know I have OCD. While I hated when my peas touched my green beans (but I loved eating Chinese food), I used to eat moldy bread. Well, when I was growing up, we were very frugal. Being poor will do that to you. Not poor, but definitely below medium income. I picked mold off some bread today, but it was not because we are still poor. It is really good artesian bread, and I did not want to waste it.

Presents for Children
I have lots of nieces and nephews to purchase presents for throughout the year. I like to get them stuff that their parents would never buy them (they are semi-spoiled anyway), and I get bonus points for purchasing things which annoy the parents. This was easy when they were little: percussion toys did the trick nicely. Or a fluffy toy cat that meows annoyingly for that "dog family." As they get older, it is harder and harder to buy for them, with my somewhat unusual requirements. I got one nephew a farting book. That was not the name of the book, but it was all about toots. And not just human toots. He read it to his parents for weeks. Score one for Leesa. And I bought another book that is in the closet for when he gets a little older. A book on statology. I hope I am not remembered as the poopy aunt. That would sort of backfire on my master plan.

Bush – Clinton
I think the Bushs and the Clintons should intermarry and breed a whole new bunch of leaders of our nation. After all, after Hillary and Jeb, there aren't too many others we can elect and our nation is intent on keeping these two families in power.

Numbering
I have been numbering my random posts. I wonder if I mis-counted, would anybody notice.

Molokai, Hawaii
Father Damien lived in Molokai, where he cared for lepers throughout his life. He gave them Catholic sacraments when no one else would. He caught leprosy and died. How many of us would risk our lives for strangers? Oh, firemen, police, soldiers, sailors, airman and marines.

All Thumbs
I hurt my thumb the other day, and I really did not realize that I needed it to type. I mean, howoftendoyoupressthespacebar?

Banana Splits for My Baby

ysabellabrave is a YouTube star, and she recently sang "Banana Splits for My Baby", a song written by Louie Prima. Louie Prima was a New Orleans (jazz) musician who started out a classical pianist. When someone asked Elvis where he got the wiggle, Elvis responded, "From Louis Prima, of course." I am a bit younger than that, so I remember him as King Louis in Disney's Jungle Book.

Banana split for my baby, a glass of plain water for me
Banana split for my baby, a glass of plain water for me
Dispenser man, if you please, serve my chick a mess of calories
Banana split for my baby, a glass of plain water for me

Client Number 9

I wrote this before Ms. Spitzer resigned yesterday. I really thought he would hang on for a few weeks. And I saw something a few minutes ago by minouye that covers this with a lot more humor, though he uses video (I would rather read the news).

For those of you who live under a rock, don't read this. It contains information that has been seen on newspapers, network news, heck, even YouTube. Everything is on YouTube, though, from balloon fetishes to Ron Paul commercials.

Here is the first few paragraphs that the Seattle Times led with:

When he was his state's attorney general, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer once broke up a call-girl ring and locked up 18 people on corruption, money-laundering and prostitution charges. He ruthlessly investigated the pay packages of Wall Street executives and was so familiar with shady financial maneuvers that he rose to become the top racketeering prosecutor in Manhattan.

But in the end, it appears Spitzer may have been done in by the same behavior he built a career out of prosecuting. Investigators said he spent perhaps as much as $80,000 with a high-priced prostitution service over an extended period of time.

For those of you living under rocks, you can read the entire story. The Seattle Times story was the first one that came up on Google News; it may not be the most authoritative story out there.

Before the other day, I had not heard of Eliot Spitzer. New York is the third most populous state (I think: California, Texas, New York; maybe New York is two), and I had no idea he was governor. Of course, I am not an expensive call girl living in DC.

Here is what disturbs me about the story:

1. No formal charges have been made. It disturbs me for two reasons: (1) Normal citizens would have been charged by now, and (2) if no formal charges have been made, why even talk about this.
2. Buried somewhere is the fact that he is a money launderer. I know that sex sells, but this is the real big (time in jail) thing about what he did.
3. Silda Wall Spitzer, why the hell are you by your man's side. Skip the news conference and go on a binge. Stay in the room and drink to your heart's content. Now is the time, lady. Patti Page's hit (Stand By Your Man) does not apply here.
4. Most people don't get it. It is not that Eliot Spitzer was seeing a prostitute (across state lines, in violation of the federal Mann Act). It is that what he is doing is embarrassing, damaging to his career, and thus the perfect thing to blackmail the man with.

The last thing that bothers me (the potential blackmail thing) is the reason that people should resign. I don't know if he goes to jail if he can continue to serve as governor. Some would rather he be in jail; at least his wife knows who he is screwing.

I would love a job where I could say: I really don't want to deal with things at the office right now; things are getting too hot. I am going to chill with me and the family. Maybe Slida will wear the leather bodysuit I bought Kristen her ….

I really feel for Slida, though she probably knows who she married. Well, it is sometimes hard to feel bad for a Harvard-educated wife of a multi-millionaire. But there it is.

Most interesting factoid about the news: Spitzer is a super delegate who supports Hillary Clinton. Maybe that's why Slida was standing by her man after all.

Readers

When I first started blogging, I was very conscious about who was reading my tripe. Oh, look at that, someone with a Commodore 64 is viewing me with an unknown web-browser in Slovocia. Their ISP is, er, I can't pronounce it, and they clicked onto 20 different pages. They must love me.

And I would look and say, wow, I got 30 people reading me today. I knew them, and it was easy to know who they were, even when they made no comments. With a product like SiteMeter, it is really easy to do, even for the technologically disadvantaged. I even wrote a post, back in 1995, about the assumptions I would make about people who left me comments. You know, when I started out blogging, I was damn sweet. I seemed to care a lot about my blog – sort of like a new car owner who forces her husband to get out the turtle wax and polish her car. Do people even polish cars anymore?

Back to whatever I was writing about. Oh, yeah, I was writing about my readers. Where was I? SiteMeter.

Then, I noticed a comment one day from a blog I would frequent, saying, "Hey, there is someone from Savannah that reads me and apparently likes what I write." I never commented on his page, but I read it. I sometimes, believe it or not, don't have anything to say.

Well, that sort of freaked me out and I purchased some software that spoofs stuff. [Insert technical garbage here that people don't want to read.] It basically pretends my computer is in California or in other places because a series of numbers separated by periods. Yeah, that's as technical as I get.

So after purchasing said software, I also stopped looking at SiteMeter. I could tell, sometimes, even which building they were using the Internet from. I mean, it did not mean that they lived in the building, but at least they were jacking the signal. I decided my readers were entitled to their ananimity, too.

For a very short time, I became somewhat popular – I would get 30 or so comments per day, and it sort of freaked me out. I did not really want all of that attention. I would like to say that I started writing crappier posts on purpose. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It is hard for me to tell. What I did not like was responding to the comments.

Comment: You said something really funny about squirrel poop today!

Leesa: Fuck you and don't come back.

Okay, anyone can write something funny to say about squirrel poop. It's just a nutty topic. But when you tell people to go away, most of them listen. The stalkers don't, but everyone else pretty much listens.

I have been trying to look for some good blogs lately, and I have not found any new ones that I look forward to reading. Part of it may be where I am at mentally.

But part of it is that there is part of the sub-culture of blogging, and there are very few women bloggers that I find interesting. Most are, well, for lack of a better term, bitchy. There are whole blogs which are written by women who are really mean. Edge-y, is what I think they are going after (no offense, Jef). I have better relationships with men – because men seem to be, in general, nicer than women. Anyway, to make up for this, I have gone out of my way to make blogger friends with women.

And it does not always work.

This blog entry was supposed to be about my readers, not me. Darn it, why can't I focus. Your loss I guess, I just have to write this. You are the one busy reading it. And there are a couple of readers who come here every day – and their blogs are written in other languages. Talk about amazing – I wish I could read blogs in other languages. And that requires work . . . so I don't see that happening any time soon.

Politics and Hurricane Katrina (Part 2 of 2)

Yesterday, I started writing about how one person had a great deal to do with the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. If you missed yesterday, shame on you. You will have to read Part One for any of this to make sense. Oh, how I hope this makes sense.

As I was writing, Buddy Roemer was elected, mostly because of Edwards ethically challenged character. Edwards dropped out of the 1987 race, and one columnist stated, "The only way Edwards can ever be reelected is to run against Adolph Hitler."

And as luck would have it (for Edwards, not for the people of Louisiana), an Adolph Hitler character ran in 1991.

For the 1991 election, Republicans and Democrats and every other flavor of politician ran together in the primary, and the two top vote-getters would face one another in the general election.

Incumbent Buddy Roemer and 3-time Governor Edwards were running neck and neck, with a third candidate trailing far behind. Buddy Roemer had switched parties, theorizing that he could take both the Republican vote and moderate conservatives as well.

Edwards was a crafty politician, and his staff dug up a quote about Roemer supporting Michael Dukakis over President Bush (he said, "Dan Quail made up my mind."). This did not sit well with conservatives.

When the ballots were counted in the primary, Edwards received 33.8% of the vote, the candidate who was running third in most polls received a surprising 31.7% of the vote, and incumbent Roemer received 26.5% of the vote and was eliminated from the race.

Edwards was prepared to run against his opponent, and it is reported that Edward's staff counseled Edwards to stop dating 20-year-olds. Some reports surfaced that his dates should be at least 25.

Some facts about Edward's opponent:

1. There was a 1989 photo of him shaking hands with the head of the American Nazi Party.
2. Even though Edwards was dating 20-year-olds, this man had been accused of dating at least one 17-year-old. Edwards said of his opponent that he "is not a womanizer. He is a little-girlizer."
3. He made several public anti-Semitic remarks (and said that the Holocaust was a hoax).
4. When asked about issues, he was usually caught off-guard. He, for example, could not name any of the top three employers in the state.
5. He had stated publicly that blacks were inferior to whites.

During the election, Edward's opponent renounced many of the things he had said previously.

Edwards won the election with about 61% of the vote. Buddy Roemer, when leaving office, said that Edwards "for twenty years created a hunger for integrity, was saved in the end by having a man run against him who has less integrity."

One of his first acts after moving back into the governor's mansion was to appoint Robert Harvey, to head the Orleans District levee board. Robert Harvey's qualification for this appointment: contributing $5,000 to Edwards campaign.

The headway that previous administrations had made about forcing the Army Corps of Engineers to built higher levees were forgotten. Over the next few years, the levee board was preoccupied with other priorities.

Oh, and the man who ran against Edwards – the man who was more crooked than a master crook? David Duke.

So you see, gentle reader, some could argue that David Duke, making it into the general election, is in part responsible for having levees that were not high enough to protect New Orleans. You see, Robert Harvey did not give $5,000 to the Duke campaign. And that (insert Paul Harvey pause) is the rest of the story.

Digg It

I have been playing around with Digg, and when I have a post that is "newsy", and believe me, most of my posts will not be newsy, I may Digg it. So if you think it is newsy too, then you can press on the Digg Button. On, and it seems like you need to join Digg in order to vote; so don't bother if you don't want to join Digg.

Politics and Hurricane Katrina (Part 1 of 2)

When I was in middle school, I can remember a lot of talk about Fidel Castro. The story that I remember most is that Fidel Castro was a minor league baseball player. I did not remember all the facts concerning the Bay of Pigs or the Cuban Missile Crisis (hence my poor Social Studies grades). And I just learned that the story is false.

That leads me to think about how other people have affected history by what they did or did not do. I want to tell you a story today, but I am not sure if I can maintain my one page blog rule.

If I asked a group of people to list the most corrupt states in the United States, one name would rise to the top. That state would be Louisiana.¹. And if you could list the most corrupt people in that state over the last twenty years, one name would also be set apart from the rest: Edwin Edwards. Edwin Edwards was first governor from 1972 to 1980, and in the state of Louisiana, you cannot run for a third term in a row. You can sit out one term and then run again, but you cannot be governor three terms in a row.

Huey P. Long, "the Kingfish", was an amazing politician, the model of the corrupt politician. My favorite quote of his: "One of these days the people of Louisiana are going to get good government - and they aren't going to like it." Edwards was more corrupt than the Kingfish. Oh, and Edwards has been in jail since October 2002. I guess that is better than being shot (Huey Long was shot – some say he was shot by one of his own bodyguards when his assailant, Carl Weiss, punched him).

Back to Edwin Edwards.

In his second term, he was positioning himself to take the office back. In Louisiana, a Republican has not been elected governor since the Civil War – that happened a lot in the South. Southern Democrats run the gambit – from conservative to liberal. So the fight is in the primary – once a Democrat won the primary, beating up the Republican was not a problem.

Edwin Edwards instituted a different type of voting, "patronage voting" or something like that. Basically, everybody runs in the same primary, and the top two vote-getters run in the general election. And you might think Edwin Edwards proposed this change in the election process to benefit the fine people of Louisiana. But since we are talking about politics, let's assume he did it to benefit himself. And knowing Edwards, perhaps this benefitted his pocketbook as well. So when Edwin Edwards left office in 1980, he was delighted when David Treen (the first Republican Governor of Louisiana) was elected over a very liberal Democrat.

Edwin Edwards won re-election in 1983, a couple of years after one of Edwards closest friends was indicted after an FBI sting. There were tapes that showed close ties between members of the Edwards administration and a New Orleans mob boss. Edwards was not indicted for his involvement.

Edwards, being Edwards, in his role of governor, went to trial for shaking down $1.9 million in bribes to secure hospital licenses. He was not convicted, but because of this and several other things, he was not re-elected in 1988.

Buddy Roemer was elected, mostly because of Edwards ethically challenged character. Edwards dropped out of the 1987 race, and one columnist stated, "The only way Edwards can ever be reelected is to run against Adolph Hitler."

Tomorrow, I will finish the story of how an Adolph Hitler placed Edwards in the governor's mansion one last time and how this may have made the devastation of Hurricane Katrina worse because of this election outcome.

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¹Louisiana has the reputation of being the most corrupt state, but in a recent study, here is how the most corrupt states ranked: (1) Mississippi, (2) North Dakota and (3) Louisiana. The only question I have is: North Dakota? Are you serious?

Random Friday #16

Typepad
I hate typepad. I have commented on several typepad blogs in the last week, and although the comments show up, they give me some sort of error, faking me out and causing me to yell at my computer. And I don't do curse words so I sound like a twelve-year-old girl from the 80s. Current twelve-year-old girls can curse.

Rules
Remember the rule to wait 30 minutes after eating before getting in a pool. I would watch the clock like a hawk when I was younger. I would be shivering in my one-piece, damp enough for the wind to make goose-pimples all over my arms. Well, I have eaten right before entering a pool twice in the last week (indoor pool) and you know what? I did not cramp up and die. I wonder what other rules are for parental amusement.

OCD Behavior in Blogger
I have been cleaning out my "draft" posts in blogger lately. Some of them, I have deleted. I mean, who wants to read why Gore will beat Bush because of Gore's stronghold in Florida, anyway? Or how Britney is really a good mother, and the press just has it all wrong. I am sure her family loves her (and will not involuntarily commit her to an institution). Or how Joe must be gay because he is (1) working in Human Resources, (2) is not married, and (3) writes really well. I had a little crush on Joe a long time ago, but he stopped taking my calls and filed a restraining order. Well, it turns out that Joe is not gay. He just uses the court system to file frivolous restraining orders. Well, I am not clearing out my colon, but I am clearing out my drafts.

Men's Shirts
Why are men's shirts so darned comfortable? I am talking about plaid Oxford-cloth Button Down shirts. I mean, I am sure there is a fettish somewhere about putting one of these bad boys on right out of the dryer, wearing nothing but panties, walking around the house . . . er, I did not type that. I think someone is hacking in my word processor.

Word Processor
Why does the phrase "word processor" sound so old? Does anyone remember WordStar? Oh, to have gone to college in the 80s. I doubt kids today would know the history of the word processor. I still remember putting things in the word processor and either having half of my document underlined or placing everythign in bold text because the ribbon on the machine was fading.

Blog Catalog Rating

I got my first rating at Blog Catalog. I probably joined Blog Catalog over a year ago; not sure why, actually, so it had to be a long time ago. Anyway, I got my first "review":

Great site blog with great contents. Please come and visit my blog too and leave me a comment.

Rated 10 of 10 and a review that looks like spam, I went to see some of his other comments. More than half of the blogs he rated got the following comment:

Your blog is one of my favorites thats why I really made a point of my busy time to post a comment.It is very informative with great contents. Keep on posting. I hope you can visit my blogs and also leave some comments. thanks.

Oh, and I kept his punctuation as well. Who does not include at least one space after a period?

I don't really get the Blog Catalog site. A couple of my blogging buddies are there (~Deb and Mike). But I still don't get it.

Graphic Novels
When I first heard the term "graphic novels", I figured it was a novel filled with violence and/or sex. Not that I hear the term often, but I still get that impression. I am a bibliophile, and so I have tripped on booksellers who specialize in graphic novels. Now, in my head, I insert the replacement words "comic books" when I hear "graphic novels."

Oh, and I looked them up on Wikipedia, and apparently there is no pure definition of graphic novel. Makes my replacement even more warranted. And the pic that was part of the article I places besides this. "It Rhymes with Lust" I wonder what they mean, when they place a buxom redhead on the cover. I am going with "trust."

Dummy Test
Have you seen those Dummy Test ads? The link will open the picture but not the dummy test itself. I think clicking on the dummy test should automatically make you one. I mean, if a test can egg you one to taking the test for dummies, I think that confirms that you are a dummy. Yeah, I took the test. Drats.

Happy Friday!

When Harry Met Leesa

One of my favorite movies is When Harry Met Sally. I have not seen it in years, but I still play scenes in my mind. And I even have, on rare occasions, seen some bloggers writing and thought, "Hmmm. He seems just like Harry. I hope he finds someone."

Sally Albright: Is Harry bringing anybody to the wedding?
Marie: I don't think so.
Sally Albright: Is he seeing anybody?
Marie: He was seeing this anthropologist, but...
Sally Albright: What's she look like?
Marie: Thin. Pretty. Big tits. Your basic nightmare.

Marie's line that punctuates the scene is classic girl talk. Women are so competitive – I still am. I have probably looked at the same number of woman's asses as my husband. Okay, maybe not, but I look at women's butts and think, "Bitch. She has a nice ass." Or, "My ass is better than her ass." And I don't like calling women bitches in my mind. Translation: I want to have the best ass in the room.

When I was in my mid-twenties, I could hold my own. Now that gravity has started yanking down my caboose, I try to avoid rooms full of bikini models, Victoria's Secrets shoppers and college co-eds.

Sally: When Joe and I started seeing each other, we wanted exactly the same thing. We wanted to live together, but we didn't want to get married because every time anyone we knew got married, it ruined their relationship. They practically never had sex again. It's true, it's one of the secrets that no one ever tells you. I would sit around with my girlfriends who have kids - and, actually, my one girlfriend who has kids, Alice - and she would complain about how she and Gary never did it anymore. She didn't even complain about it, now that I think about it. She just said it matter-of-factly. She said they were up all night, they were both exhausted all the time, the kids just took every sexual impulse they had out of them. And Joe and I used to talk about it, and we'd say we were so lucky we have this wonderful relationship; we can have sex on the kitchen floor and not worry about the kids walking in. We can fly off to Rome on a moment's notice. And then one day I was taking Alice's little girl for the afternoon because I'd promised to take her to the circus, and we were in the cab playing "I Spy" - I spy a mailbox, I spy a lamp-post - and she looked out the window and she saw this man and this woman with these two little kids. And the man had one of the little kids on his shoulders, and she said, "I spy a family." And I started to cry. You know, I just started crying. And I went home, and I said, "The thing is, Joe, we never do fly off to Rome on a moment's notice."
Harry: And the kitchen floor?
Sally: [sadly] Not once. It's this very cold, hard Mexican ceramic tile.

I remember this scene as well.

I have written about not having children a couple of times. Here is one post and I know there are others. I am just too busy to look for others right now.

I know this scene is about loving someone who wants other things. Someone who says that he wants one thing because that's what he wants with you. I privately prayed that Joe's thingie would fall off in the shower. Enough about me being a hateful bitch.

When my husband and I married, we wanted certain things. And children was way up there on the list. But things happen, and we can't have kids. We have gone round and round with adoption. The subject is still open, but we are not the perfect adoptive parents. We are getting "older". I have a girlfriend who is 35 and her adoption agency says she is on the cusp of being too old. Where does that leave my 39-year-old-chassis?

Okay, now I want to go see When Harry Met Sally. And I don't have to wait for the Blue Ray^® edition, either. [I started this post on 4/10/07 but only got the title and the quotes at that time.]

Election Prediction

Super Tuesday was yesterday – actually the day I am writing this blog entry. Super Tuesday, however, seems a lot less super since many of the states that normally participate in Super Tuesday moved up their primaries.

The primary doesn't matter though. It matters not. Sorry Ohio. Sorry Texas. It really doesn't matter who you vote for. Your vote doesn't count. Americans don't want to hear that. Americans want their votes to count. We hear it in high school, so it must be true, damnit¹.

Now, some years your vote counts more than other years – and it has to do with who is running. Not who is running on the Democratic or Republican ticket, but which spoiler is running. And the current spoiler's name is Ralph Nader.

While most liberal Americans blame hanging chads for one of W. Bush's victories, others blame Ralph Nader. Personally, I blame Al Gore, who blew off Nader after he became vice president. Nader wanted a meeting with Al Gore, but Gore was a little too busy, and it may have cost him the presidency. At the very least, it made Ralph Nader an enemy.

Now some believe that Nader did not cost Al Gore the election – some a lot more astute than I, that is. But I am a fear-monger, so hear me out. />²

Now I know what many of you are thinking: Ralph Nader's pinnicle of success was obtained in 1988 when he was singing "People in Your Neighborhood" with Bob McGrath Sesame Street episode. For me, he was a consumer advocate. And now, he also has aligned himself with environmental issues as well.

Who does someone who works on environment and consumer advocate non-profits want to rule the country? A Democrat who may work on solving these issues? Or a Republican who may not (and donations to said non-profits almost certainly increase given this fact)? Now, I am a believer in following the money. I get that from my fear-mongering media kit. Personally, I don't think there is much different from Dems and Reps as far as the environment is concerned. How many legislative efforts did we hear from Clinton with Gore as his right-hand VP man? I can't think of any. At least when Republicans (under the Reagan administration) threatened Alaska wildlife for pipelines, conservation was in the forefront of people's minds. Oh, and non-profits did more to purchase land to set aside for the future. They had more money to do things since environmentalists were rallying around these threats.³

Now, I am not saying Nader mattered on all of the elections he was in, but people who vote for Nader are more likely to vote for a Democratic than a Republican candidate.

Also, I have heard that if Obama is the nominee, perhaps Nader doesn't have much of a role, either, because he is getting non-voters to vote. He is not just cutting a piece of the voting pie; he is baking as well.

So maybe your vote is not lost. If that makes your head explode, Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and some other little state, well, it may made a difference if you vote for Obama or against H. Clinton.

I am a woman and really want to see a woman president. But the right president.

My prediction is this: if Obama wins the Democrat nomination, it is even money between Obama and McCain. If H. Clinton wins, whoever the Republican nominates will be the next president. Personally, I think it is funny that most Republicans don't like McCain. Maybe that is a good endorsement for the man; I don't know.

But whatever happens, this election year is entertaining. Now what else do you hope for? Candidates that shoot straight? P-please. This is America and we don't vote for people who talk honestly to us.

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¹Is "damnit" a minor swear word? I hope so.

²Translation: this is total BS, a funny piece with kernels of truth interwoven.

³Yeah, I am an environmentalist who does not believe there is much difference between Republicans and Democrats on environmental issues. I am not talking rhetoric. I am talking action.

Family Crap Heirlooms

You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family.

I don't know why I thought of that. It is not like I am thirteen again.

I have been looking at old photos lately, oh, and this is not a photo of my family. Yeah, there is Leesa, third on the left, second row, with the three kids at her feet. Am I the only one that sees children at the feet of someone and thinks of the family dog? Yeah, dogs and kids, at the feet, eating table scraps. Sorry.

I have a lot of old photos of people I have never met – people who have died 60 or more years ago. I say that I "love" these photos, but you know, if they get lost in a fire, how heart-broken will I be? I carry around the photos because I was given them to safeguard. Almost anyone who would have known these people are dead, and the living ones are not very lucid anyway. "Hey, grandpa, go easy on the Wild Turkey." And I always think to myself, "what the hell, he is 90-some-odd years old, what harm can it do?"

Then I look at other things that I cart around or keep in storage. Some of the items are great-grandparents-old-this-or-that. It had sentimental meaning for my great-grandparents or grandparents, but I never used the item. I would have been more sentimental over an old Donny and Marie Record Player. That reminds me of when I was a girl – not some old hair brush.

Of course, then my Catholic genes kick in and I start to feel guilty. "Sorry, Great Grandma Ida, I know you must have counted brush strokes – ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred – and it was especially meaningful for you to pass onto your children. But sooner or later it becomes stuff in a box, taken out ever other decade. Eventually someone will inherit it, and it might find its way to Ebay. Maybe.

Of course, I could buy an old Donny and Marie Record Player on Ebay if I act fast.

Sunday Nights

You know, I hated 60 Minutes when I was growing up. The tick-tick-tick reminded me that Monday morning was just one sleep away, and I normally would have to start working on homework that I should have done on Friday, or Saturday. I mean, Friday afternoon is so far removed from Monday that you really can't really concentrate on school work that early. Saturday is the perfect day. No school the next day, no real responsibilities. Saturday is the perfect day. Sunday was compulsory church – not that I did not like church, but you know, when you have to go, it can be a bit of a chore. By the time you get out of your church dress, it is almost lunchtime on Sunday. A good day, but not the best day.

60 Minutes, for me, was not really a show. It was a signal that the weekend was almost over. We all view the world in our own way, and I see the world in patterns. Seasons are important to me, and so are patterns of the week. Mondays felt one way, Friday another. Well, growing up, Friday always included eating fish. Catholics don't abstain from meat on all Fridays anymore, but when I was growing up, that's what our family practiced.

Back to Sunday nights.

In the fall and winter, my father would watch football. He would watch the afternoon game, that, as I recall, was from 4 PM to 7:00 PM. We normally would not eat around the television, but occasionally, if the game warranted it (overtime), perhaps he would bend the rule on Sunday night.

My dad did not always watch 60 Minutes. He would when his father was visiting, but not on his own. He would leave on the television on through the start of 60 Minutes. The ticking, and then turn it off.

At that point, on regular weekends, I would start worrying. Generally we would have dinner, and I would try and eat really quickly. Dinner was always a family affair, each day of the week, but on Sunday nights, I would excuse myself to "do my homework."

My mother would always ask, "Oh, Leesa, you have not finished your homework for the weekend." Well, sort of a question/statement than an actual question, but she would say this every Sunday night.

I don't have homework anymore, and, you know, my husband does not watch football games or 60 Minutes. So this is more of a memory than anything.

Is 60 Minutes still around? The clock has been ticking for years, and I wonder how many 60 Minutes fans have not outlasted the television program.